Hairspray the musical

Hairspray the musical is based on John Waters ‘s 1988 film of the same name and has been presented worldwide onstage as well as on film and television.

Hairspray the musical is set in Baltimore, 1962. Tracy Turnblad is a big girl with big hair and big dreams. Can she make it on the local TV dance show, win the heart of teen heartthrob Link Larkin and bring everyone together – whatever their colour, size or hairdo? Well if you want a change, you’ve really got to shake things up

Hairspray the musical features music and lyrics by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman with a book by Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan.

Opening on Broadway in 2003. Hairspray the musical won eight Tony awards including Best Musical running for 2642 performances on Broadway. The Broadway production starred Harvey Fierstein playing the role Divine created in the original film. The London production opened at the Shaftesbury Theatre in 2008 starring Michael Ball winning four Olivier Awards including Best Musical closing after playing over 1000 performances.

A revival starring Michael Ball reprising the role of Edna Turnblad is due to be staged in 2021.

A film version was released in July 2007. The film was directed and choreographed by Adam Shankman and starred John Travolta as Edna Turnblad, Christopher Walken as Wilbur Turnblad, Queen Latifah as Maybelle, Michelle Pfeiffer as Velma Von Tussle, James Marsden as Corny Collins, and Nikki Blonsky as Tracy Turnblad